Automobile-puller.



H. C. BENTON & l. R. VEST AUTOMOBILE PULL ER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, I91 7.

1,270,104. Patented June 18, 1918.

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HENRY CLAY BENTON AND JOSEPH RICHARD VEST, OF HUNTING-TON, WEST VIRGINIA.

AUTOMOBILE-FULLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

iatented June 18, 1918.

Appitieatienfiled September 5, 1917. Serial No. 189,337.

produce a deviee for pulling a motor vehicle out of the mind or sand when it becomes stalled therein.

The invention comprises an extension at, the front end of the engine shaft and a worm on said extension, a drum having a worm ger, and means :for throwing the gear into mesh with the worm when the puller is to be used--all as hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the drawings wherein Figure '1 is a perspective view of the front end of a well-known type of automobile with "this device applied thereto but with its parts turned so that the gear is out of mesh with the worm and the device is inactive.

Fig.2 is an enlarged side ele 'ation, with parts partly broken away and in section.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line a a at Fig. 2.

l'Ve are not concerned with any part of the motor vehicle excepting its frame 1 and its main or driving, shaft. i i and cranking handle. U, and while we have shown this attaclnnent applied to one form of ear, it is quite obvious that it could be adapted to a variety of cars; without departing front the principle of the invention. it; is well known that, especially where a motor vehicle used on muddy, sandy, or otherwise bad reads, it is quite apt to become stalled so that the driver can not start the machine by the traction of its driving wheelsalue either to the bad eondition oi, the roadway, the excessive load, or both. '10 meet this contingency, devices have been made which pull the machine out of a rut by winding upon a. drain. a rope. or cable whiei'i carried forvmrd and attached to some fixed object such as a pin driven in the ground, a tree or fencepost, or the like. Our invention is of that type which employs a drum 1 whereon is wound a rope 2, and it is hardly necessary to illustrate the pin or tree to which the front end of the rope must he attachedwhen it is to be used. When not in use the rope is wound upon the drum and the latter stands idle. \Vhcn the attachment is in use. the drum must:- be (onnet't'ed with the main or crank shaft so that, when the engine is started the drum is 1'0- tated, the rope having been first huwound and paid out to a considerable extents-all as well. luulerstood and needing no further reference herein. i

We provide a pair of bracket arms 3 to overlie the front Cross bar of the frame F, each. having a clip plate 4. and bolts 5 or other suitable means for attaching it to the frame F of the machine, and these elements constitute the framework on which the :SlillttlUTO described below is mounted. Journaled in suitable bearings 6 on the frame work is an extension shaft 7 whose rear end 8 has suitable means for connecting it to the front end of the crank shaft, S and Whose front end herein is shown as provided with a pin 9 adapted to be engaged by the hub of the crank handle C as the latter is applied.see dotted lines in Fig. 2. o do not. wish to be confined to details, but. the idea here is that the framework supports an extension shaft- 7 by means of which the main or engine shaft S is elongated or carried to some little distance forward of the radiator, and the front. end of this extension sha'l't may be provided with means whereby the crank handle can, be used as customary,

in case the motor vehicle is not provided with a self-starter.

Fast on the extension shaft is a worm l0. lll'ounted in other bearings 11 and 12, carried by appropriate parts of the framework a cross shaft 13, and fast on this shaft is a drum Li. and a worm gear 15, the latter standing over the "worm and having its teeth properly shaped to engage t l'iereivith. The cross shalt loose in. its outer bearing 11, and join-nailed ereentrically in a sleeve 16 which latter in turn is journaled in the inner bearing 12, and from the sleeve rises a handlo 17 in the shape of a lever having a handgrip or handle proper 18 at its upper end which is-of some considerable weight. WVe prefer to so dispose this lever 17 and its handle 18 with respect to the sleeve 16 that; when the handle stands upright, or nearly so the eccentric bearing}; through the sleeve is at; the lower portion thereof and the Worm gear is in mesh with the worm as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, but when the lever is turned forward and downward, the sleeve is turned within the bearing 12 so that the inner end of the cross shaft and the worm gear are raised and the attachment is. thrown out of engagemer t withthe worm. In other words, the normal pendeiftgposition of the weighted lever 17 is such that it holds this attachment out of action, but when the lever is swung forward and upward and its handle 18 is laid back against the radiator, the attaclr ment is in action. This detail is purposely adopted because when the attachment is at work any sudden stoppage of the automobile in its forward progress will cause the handle to move forward by inertia and throw the puller out of action before the cable is broken. It is our intention that this attachment shall be applied to and become a permanent part of the automobile as seen in Fig. 1, although of course it is optional with the user to take it off his car in case he intends to travel on good roads or for pleasure While he will doubtless employ it at all times when he expects to travel on poor roads or with a heavy load or both.

The use of automobile pullers of this kind is now very well known; In case the machine becomes stalled, the driver dismounts, carries the forward end of the cable up the road or along the road and attaches it to some fixed object such as a pin, a, tree, or a fence post, then cranks the engine as usual. Next he swings the lever forward and upward and throws the handles back against the radiator and gets out of the way, and thereafter the power of the main shaft is communicated by the gear and gearwheel. to the drum 14 which begins-to rotate slowly. As soon the slack on the cable is taken up, further movement of the drum winds the cable thereon with the result that the automobife is pulled out of the stalled position by'its own power. After having gotten out of the rut the engine is stopped, the lever turned back t the position shown in Fig. 1- which loosens the drum, the cable loosened up and detached or disconnected from the stump or pin and rewound, and the driver proceeds on his way. In the car or machine is pulled out of the rut with a rush and comes up against some obstruction, the inertia of the rather heavy handle 18 will cause it to move forward when the car stops, with the resut that it will fall over to the front and carry the lever 17 with it and disengage the wormgear from the worm so as to put this attachinent out of action without necessarily drawing the machine over the obstruction to the injury of parts in case the obstruction should be a. stump. Of course this device is capable of other uses. For instance, the motor vehicle could be stopped on the road and the cable paid out to another machine which was in similar trouble, and the first machine with brakes set could act as a power-driven windlass to draw the second out of its stalled position. Or, of course any work could be performed by this attachment properly applied to a machine, which would be susceptible of performance by drawing forcibly on a cable. The parts are all of metal, easily manufactured and readily applied, and the attchment should not be heavy or expensive.

What we claim as new is 1. The herein described automobile puller comprising a framework adapted for attachment to the frame of the motor vehicle, a sleeve journaled in the framework and having through it an eccentric bearing, a cross shaft journaled in this bearing and carrying a drum, a'cable attached to said drum and adapted to be wound thereon, a worm gear fast on the shaft, a worm driven by the main shaft of the vehicle, and a lever projecting radially from said sleeve and having a-weighted handle at its outer end, the position of said lever with respect to the sleeve being such that when the lever is raised and ,thrown back against the radiator the gear'i s thrown into mesh with the worm for the purpose set forth.

2. The hereindes cribed automobile puller comprising a framework adapted for attachment to the frame of the motorvehicle, an extension shaft journaled in said frame work and adapted for attachment at its rear end to the main shaft of said vehicle, the extension shaft also adapted for the attachment to its front end of the cranking handle, a worm on said shaft, bearings carried bysaid framework, a sleeve journaled in the inner bearing and having through it an eccentric bearing, a cross shaft journaled in this bearing and in the other bearing first mentioned, a drum fast on said shaft be" tween its bearings, a cable attached to said drum and adapted to be wound thereon, a worm goal. also fast on said shaft above the worm, and a lever projecting radially from said sleeve and having a weighted handle at its outer end, the position of said lever being such that when raised and thrown back against the radiator the gear is thrown into mesh with the worm, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

HENRY CLAY BENTON. JOSEPH RICHARD VEST. 

